mmm-yoso!!!

Happy New Year!

Whew, it's been quite a year. Work has been crazy and we managed to squeeze in four (if you count Vancouver) international trips as well. And suddenly, it's almost 2017.

Anyway, New Year's Eve started as things usually do for me, with last minute trips to Nijiya and Mitsuwa, giving me a chance to check out the Osechi, something that I've done since my first New Year post.

Then of course, I made Nishime.

This year we did something a bit different for New Year's Eve. We decided to go out and have a nice dinner. With the rainy weather we decided to stay close to home and check out the New Years Tasting Menu at Red Card Café. The price seemed quite reasonable at $46 per person and we were pleasantly surprised. We enjoyed our meal.

Red Card Café
4140 Morena Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

And we stopped for a drink on the way home at the High Dive.

The theme seemed to be Disco and the staff dressed appropriately for that theme. The Missus couldn't stop laughing and folks were having a great time.

High Dive Bar and Grill
1801 Morena Blvd
San Diego, CA 92110

And when was the last time I heard this:

Or this.....

Now where did I put those Angel Flight Pants???

As the year comes to a close, everyone here at mmm-yoso would like to thank you for dropping by and extend best wishes for 2017!

Hauoli Makahiki Hou!

Revisits - Lavang Restaurant, R&B Filipino Cuisine, and Tim Ky Noodle

A couple of revisits from Mira Mesa-land.

Lavang Restaurant:

I hadn't been back to Lavang in nearly two years and I had been wondering how the place was doing. I had also gotten a couple of emails mentioning the Bun Cha here, so I dropped by to check things out.

Man, the place was empty when I arrived, with no other customers during my entire visit. The folks here are very nice though.

I had "some reservations" (no pun intended) when I saw a sheet of paper with a photo of Anthony Bourdain and President Obama having Bun Cha in one of those episodes of Parts Unknown. Another sheet explained what Bun Cha was.......hmmm.....not sure about this one, but I went ahead and ordered the Bun Cha.

As always, the presentation here is always quite nice.

Now, to be perfectly honest; I didn't expect anything close to what we had in Hanoi or even Westminster. But this was pretty bland; especially the sauce which was really watered down and really bland. The meatballs were hard and dry as well. The grilled pork was fine, on the chewy side which is fine for this dish.

The bun was really done well, exceptionally good stretch to them, but were chopped into short pieces. The herbs were fine; the pickled papaya was given a nice little flower presentation.

Overall, I was underwhelmed with this dish. I'll stick with the version from Nhu Y.

Lavang Restaurant
6755 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92121

R & B Filipino Cuisine:

It had been over two years since I'd been to R&B, so I decided to drop by and get my entire days worth of fat and calories in one meal. I actually had this at 10am and didn't eat again until dinner which was a salad.

I'm rarely able to resist sisig, so I got that. On previous visits, the sisig here had been decent. It still is, except for a few things; it's kept on the side and when served is ice cold. The sour flavors were quite good, but for some reason this time around it was missing spice. There were some really hard bits of lechon kawale in this as well.

I also saw something different this time around; the Paksiw na Pata, basically braised pork leg...it looks deceivingly like adobo. The flavor was interesting, I liked the vinegar tones and unlike adobo this doesn't have much soy sauce and wasn't very salty. I saw a lot of garlic, but strangely the flavor didn't come through. I also enjoy the gelatinous pieces, but not much of that and man, there was this huge slice of pork and fat. Some of the pieces of pork were on the dry side and the overall mouthfeel was a bit on the greasy side. Just a few strands of banana blossom.

The sinigang was pretty good, nice and bracingly sour.

The rice was on the mushy side, but in total, this wasn't bad at all.

R & B Filipino Cuisine
11257 Camino Ruiz
San Diego, CA 92126

Tim Ky Noodle:

Driving aimlessly on Christmas Day, I decided to stop in to have a bowl of noodle soup Tim Ky. While what I had on my last visit wasn't particularly good, I'd had some pretty good bowls here in the past.

Deciding on turning a new leaf and all, I went with something totally different. The Hu Tieu My Tho, which besides the BBQ Pork is a bowl of offal.

This really didn't look very inspiring when it arrived....but how often does a bowl of guts and porcine organs really want you to break into song?

Loved the hu tieu which were robustly elastic. The broth started fairly flat, but as it soaked up the flavor from the offal, started tasting quite good. The best of the lot was the intestines, clean and chewy...the thin slices of offal were nice, just enough earthy, bitter tones, but the pig liver tasted a bit off, and not being a big fan of pig liver, unless it's really fresh, it was not my cup of tea. There were two small, rubbery shrimp in the soup. 

Not bad. I was surprised at the large groups of customers, most of which weren't Asian! Folks gotta eat on Xmas Day I guess.

Tim Ky Noodle
9330 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126  

Midweek Meanderings - T P Banh Bao 3 Opens in Mira Mesa, Xi'an Kitchen Becoming Noodle Hut, and the Missus Gets Her Kenya Guama Peaberry Beans from Birdrock

T.P. Banh Bao 3 Opens:

There sure have been quite a few openings during the usually slow holiday season this year. Back in October, "FOY" (friend of yoso) Jan Frederick sent me an email regarding a Banh Bao shop opening in Mira Mesa. I found out through my sources that they opened on Christmas Eve.

Apparently the other two T.P. Banh Bao shops are in Houston and Garden Grove. I'll get a post done after I sample a few more items from the place.

Thanks for the heads-up Jan Frederick!

11271 Camino Ruiz
San Diego, CA 92126

Xi'an Kitchen Closes. Noodle Hut Taking Its Place:

Back in early November I noticed that Xian Kitchen had shuttered quite suddenly. I walked up and read the gory details to the right. 'Nuff said.

Apparently something named "Noodle Hut" is taking its place.

4690 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

The Missus Gets Her Kenya Guama Peaberry Fix:

Once in a while the really nice guys at Birdrock on Morena will tell me when something special is going to be available. This year they mentioned that the Kenya Guama Peaberry had scored a 97 on Coffee Review and told me it might be in the top 5 coffees of the year. So when it became available I reserved a bag. Turns out the coffee took #1 of the top 30 coffees of the year.

While the Missus prefers the light acid a fruitiness of Natural Processed beans; these washed processed Peaberry beans were quite distinctive....super smooth, rich, with a long finish. The Missus was a happy coffee nerd.

Bird Rock Coffee Roasters
1270 Morena Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92110

Saigon 5

Along with Krispy Krunchy Chicken, Saigon 5 occupies a space in the new 99 Ranch Market Foodcourt. They also open at 9am, which, with my current wacky schedule makes it quite convenient for grabbing lunch at say; 10am.

My understanding is that this is owned by the same folks who run Saigon on Fifth.

I've found this location of 99 Ranch Market to be fairly empty every time I've visit. At 10am on a weekday; the place looked like a ghost town.

Not sure what to get; folks who emailed me mentioned stuff like Pho Bo Kho, which I believe was a special. There were no specials during my three visits, so I was stuck with the regular menu. On my first visit, I just got a simple Dumpling Egg Noodle Soup ($6.95), which was nicely priced.

I appreciated the nice little addition of the pork neck, which kept me busy digging little bits of meat out of the crevices. Enjoyed the greens in the broth as well. The broth was a bit on the "thin" side for me. I think it could have been a bit richer, but the flavor, while on the mild side, mostly salt-pepper, was fine.

The dumplings were on the chewy side; though each one had a piece of shrimp (no, don't get excited, not a whole shrimp) in it. Again, a little weak in pork-shrimp and light with regards to seasoning.

The egg noodles were done right, a slight pull and crunch.

This was not bad at all.

So I returned and went with the Pho Dac Biet ($8.95). The comparison to the "Mi" was night and day. I think I have a contender for the worst pho in the area.

A couple of meatballs and some tasteless, chewy well done steak....that's what almost nine bucks got me. The broth was insipid, almost like just salt, water, and perhaps someone gleefully waved a beef bone over the broth to hopefully impart some flavor. It's almost like they used the same broth as the egg noodle soup, but with even less flavor. The noodles were all chopped short and mushy, totally over cooked.

Less said the better.....I'm trying to forget this bowl.

A couple of weeks later I returned and decided on the Banh Mi Dac Biet ($4.50) as my tie-breaker.

The bread was starting to go, you could tell by the texture. It was also ice cold. I liked the pate, which was nice. Rich and funky. Though the person who applied had pressed so hard into the bread causing one long divot of mushy bread from one end to the other. The pork belly and a cha lua were fine; but on the dry side. They also really like a lot of black pepper here. The pickled daikon and carrots were shredded fine and quite crisp; but in my opinion had not been pickled well as it lacked zip.

I'm not sure what to think about this place. My first visit was pretty good, but that pho was just not good, and while the banh mi was below average, there are places that do better, and are open early.

The service was fine, Both young women who work here are pleasant, though one seems a bit detached.

 Saigon 5
5950 Balboa Ave (Inside 99 Ranch Market)
San Diego, CA 92111

Merry Christmas

Hard to believe....this is my 12th Christmas post. And while that first one was just a plate of cookies.....well, let's go for something a bit grander. Like maybe Kyoto?

We did our usual Christmas Lights drive between storms.....

And there seems to be more decorations this year......

We also bought Da Boyz some fairly ugly sweaters. Frankie must have really hated his since he ended up rubbing it on the walls until it got stretched out. Looked like he was wearing an "Ugly Curtain".

Sammy....well, just kinda accepted things.

Anyway, from the gang here at mmm-yoso!!! We hope you have a safe, wonderful, and most of all...delici-yoso Christmas!

Clearing Out the Memory Card - The Lion's Share and Aqui es Texcoco

Everyone's kind of distracted this time of the year. Here are photos of revisits to two places that I'd like to clear out of my memory card before the year ends.

The Lion's Share:

A Happy Hour favorite of the Missus.

Especially since She's really gotten to enjoy a nice cocktail now and then.

And Her favorite Happy Hour item still are those Deviled Eggs.

 

$6 during happy hour; the Missus is often tempted to order two. I enjoy the Prosciutto with Truffle Oil the most.

The Rabbit Sausage ($6 - Happy Hour) was nice; but it was the delicious whole grain mustard we really enjoyed.

The wbBLT Sliders ($8 - Happy Hour) are fine; we both enjoy the nice rolls.

The Wild Boar Poutine ($8 - Happy Hour) on the other hand was a disappointment.

  Looks like this was placed under a broiler and the fries dried out making it seemed more baked than fried. The cheese was way too gooey and this was pretty salty so we couldn't make out any "wild boar". Also, where's the gravy?

As whole, we really enjoy the good cocktails ($6 - Happy Hour) and good Happy Hour pricing. The rather odd and eye catching artwork is a bonus. The Missus really likes the Lion's Share...to the point that She's willing to head into the Gaslamp.

The Lion's Share
629 Kettner Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92101

Hours:
Open daily 4 pm - 2 am - Happy hour from 4 - 6pm Daily

Aqui es Texcoco:

It's been way too long since we last visited. But our old favorites are still great here.

From the consommé; full of lamb flavor and nice and comforting with a squeeze of lime.

To the salty, but satisfying Chicharron de Queso.....griddled cheese.

And the Missus's favorite; the Plato Azteca......with huitlacoche(of course) and flor de calabaza (squash blossom) of course.

And of course you gotta get some Borrego....in this case the Mixiote.

Something I didn't take a photo of but was pretty impressed with this time around were the tortillas which were excellent.

Aqui es Texcoco never lets us down.

Aqui Es Texcoco
1043 Broadway
Chula Vista, CA 91911

I couldn't help but take a photo of this sweet face.......waiting faithfully for its owner who was probably doing some Christmas shopping....hopefully for the pooch.

More Noodling Around - Revisits to Minh Ky and Pho King

Before the nice variety of breakfasts I had over recent weekends; it was the same 'ol, same old. Yep, basically noodle soup. It was the one thing I missed during our last trip. So between these noodle soup visits and those breakfasts....well, it was more noodle soup.

Minh Ky:

Instead of my usual, I went with the combination egg noodle soup. Not sure what was up on this day; but man, that broth was really weak. The char siu here tastes pretty good; but I wasn't too thrilled with the rest of the stuff....fish balls, fish cake, you know.

The egg noodles were good, slightly chewy with a bit of crunch, the soup was hot.

I'm sticking with one of my usual bowls here next time.

Minh Ky Restaurant
4644 El Cajon Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92115

Pho King:

After that visit to Minh Ky; I decided to stick with the usual at Pho King.

Is it just me; or has this parking lot really become a "horror show" over the last few years?

Anyway it was the Hu Tieu Mi Kho. These days they go a bit lighter on the Chinese celery and bean sprouts.

Still the combination of noodles; the ground pork, both in the bowl and sauce really does the trick for me. A little sweetness, a lot of saltiness, a nice combination of textures. Though to be perfectly honest......it's the combination of noodles that I really enjoy.

Pho King Restaurant
4658 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

So there you go.....just noodling around on this Thursday.

Chuan Chuan Xiang (串串香 - aka Mala Tang 麻辣烫) at Private Kitchens

***** This location is no longer 

It's funny how things work out. I was headed to a dreaded lunch hour meeting, when I was notified that it was cancelled. I decided to head on down Clairemont Mesa to grab something to eat. I noticed that the place I'd recently seen that replaced the Zisu Indian Market named Private Kitchens had opened....at least the sign said open. So I parked and walked in.

I quickly noticed a couple of things; first off, there's a temporary wall put up and there's still Indian groceries for sale. Second, there was only one person in the place that spoke English, a sweet young lady whose English name is "Julie" I believe.

It's an odd set-up, two folks came in, did some shopping and paid for their groceries at the register. There were some interesting communication issues, but everything got taken care of. I think the shop is liquidating the grocery inventory? I mentioned this to the Missus who told me; "you know my peeps......"

Second thing I noticed. In spite of the huge kitchen, the place was set-up with skewers of various vegetables, meats, bean curd, etc. This was a "chuan chuan xiang" ("fragrant skewers") style place; also know as mala tang ("numb and spicy") style place. A real Chengdu specialty where you pick your skewers and they are cooked in a numbing hot broth. I really haven't seen this here since Ba Ren tried their "Yie-Shi" menu years ago.

This style of eating has a special place in my heart. I couldn't wait to grab a basket and have at it. You get charged by the skewers....frankly, I just picked out stuff I enjoy....it came out to about $11. A "small pot" cost $3.99; though I didn't care for the standard noodles.....instant ramen type.

My favorite items were the frozen and fried tofu, the bean curd skin, along with the enoki mushrooms. The rest was pretty routine and basic, but that broth was definitely, legitimately "numbing hot". I did get the "ma-la" and it was that in spades. I left with a nice layer of sweat on my forehead.

Funny thing, a couple of days later, it was pouring rain, everybody had been stuck in meetings and calls and we decided to grab some lunch. So Calvin, JohnF, Renee, and I headed over for some Mala Tang. This style of eating is quite social; except Renee can't eat tolerate anything too spicy; so we got her a milder version.....I got the Boys medium spicy. Calvin just piled stuff on.....

I ordered kuan fen (cellophane noodles) this time around, which goes quite well with the hot pot. Calvin loves his chicken parts; the heart was good; so was the pork stomach. I gotta say though; if you're going to do this, go for the spicy....the medium just didn't do it for me. We left quite satisfied; Renee had never experienced the "ma" before and told me her lips were numb; "but in a good way". We headed back to the office on a spicy endorphin high.....just the thing to take us through the rest of the day.

Now I'm not going to say this is great, nor even really good. The skewers are fine; it's the broth that makes this. It's also comfort food for me. And so far the version here does enough. I'm hoping it gets better. I'm also wondering what happens when the inventory of Indian Groceries is depleted and that temporary wall comes down? Will the menu expand and offer us more Chengdu style dishes?

One can always hope.....

Private Kitchens
5440 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

San Diego Restaurants

Cooking the Book - Vegetarian "Eel" in Sweet and Sour Sauce, Inspired by Land of Fish and Rice

Yes, you read right...."mock eel"....like really. I've found some time to cook a bit recently and am now going to try to make it through those cookbooks I've got stacked on my coffee table. I've often done riffs on Fuchsia Dunlop's recipes. Her cookbooks hold a special place on my shelves. So when her latest cookbook Land of Fish and Rice was announced, I pre-ordered it.

Being married to someone from China and working with several others, I've noticed something quite interesting; the Missus's Shandong cum Hunan lineage struggles with the sweet flavors of Su-Cai and similar cuisines. As does our former coworker "Lily" who is from Shanxi. Meanwhile "YZ" can't deal with "Yang Rou"....and so one and so forth. Me? I love it all. So while I'm tempted to go for the Dong Po Rou, the Missus wasn't having any of that. While paging through, I found a rather simple recipe that caught my atttention it's called Vegetarian "eels" in Sweet-and-Sour Sauce in the book. I was mainly interested because the recipe didn't use tofu; which would probably have been the easy out. Instead, dried shiitake mushrooms were used.

Of course I adjusted the recipe to suit our (the Missus's) taste, upping the Chinkiang vinegar and soy sauce, adding a bit of five spice, mushroom soaking liquid, and a chili for some heat. And of course, using the Big Kahuna which cut the cooking time to mere minutes. The dish is best made in small batches. Also, do a good job of "scattering" the mushroom while deep frying, otherwise they tend to stick together.

The Missus really enjoys this; the sweet-salty-sour-savory components go together well.

Vegetarian "Eel" in Sweet and Sour Sauce:

10-12 dried Shiitake Mushrooms
About one-fourth of a good sized red bell pepper
About one-fourth of a good sized green bell pepper
Three thin slices of ginger
One medium sized red serrano pepper
Hot Water

2-3 Tb Potato Starch
1/4 tsp Five Spice Powder

2 cups peanut oil for deep frying

1 Tb Shaoxing wine
2 Tb strained mushroom soaking liquid

The Sauce:
1 Tb Shaoxing
3 Tb sugar
3 Tb Chinkiang vinegar
3 Tb light soy sauce
2 Tb strained mushroom soaking liquid

1/2 tsp Dark Soy Sauce (you may also want to try Mushroom Soy Sauce)
1/2 tsp Sesame Oil

- Soak the mushroom in hot water for 20-30 minutes
- Slice bell peppers into thin strips. Julienne the ginger. Cut the serrano pepper in half, remove seeds than cut into strips.
- Remove mushrooms from the soaking liquid, squeeze out excess liquid, remove stems and cut into strips.
- Strain 4Tb of the mushroom liquid
- Combine sauce ingredients until sugar is dissolved
- Combine mushroom slices with potato starch and five spice until coated
- Heat oil and scatter the mushroom, you may need to do in two batches. Fry until slightly crisp and remove from the oil
- Remove all but about 3-4 tb of oil and heat until nearly smoking
- Add peppers into the hot oil and stir fry
- Add Shaoxing, mushroom liquid, and ginger and stir fry until fragrant
- Add the mushroom back into the wok, add the sauce and stir fry until coated.
- Remove from heat and add dark soy sauce and sesame oil. Mix well.

Breakfasts of Champions - El Borrego, Manila Fast Food and Desserts, and the "Moco Loco" at the High Dive

While I might grumble about the food and restaurants here in San Diego from time to time; I do realize that there is a nice variety available to you if you take the time to enjoy things. Take breakfast/brunch for example. Over the last couple of weeks, I found myself getting something different from the usual noodle soup while doing my Saturday morning errands.

El Borrego:

It's easy to overlook El Borrego. The street parking is limited and it's in sort of a no-man's land right before the main City Heights shopping area. Heck; it's been about four years since I've last visited.

But with temps now dipping into the 40's at night, I just wanted some Lamb Consomme.

The lovely warm embrace of the gamey lamb broth ($2.25) was just the thing I needed to warm me up and get me going. As was the Mexican coffee.

Being a bit hungry, I also ordered two Quesadilla Rellenas ($2.75/ each); one with flor de calabasa and the other with; of course, huitlacoche....I'm thinking that Black Belt Jonez comment on huitlacoche had me craving it.

The huitlacoche here is fairly mild with just a bit of that fungi flavor; the squash blossom goes really well with the cheese; which adds in a slightly milky touch. That salsa roja is no joke either.

Nice and comforting, but not too much food; it was what I needed to get all systems ready for my errands.

El Borrego Restaurant
4280 El Cajon Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92115

Manila Fast Food and Desserts:

I was here just a few months back, but decided to get my Longsilog fix since I was in the neighborhood.

  The Garlic Rice was decent; miost and the garlic wasn't too burnt and bitter. The steam table eggs weren't bad; still soft and runny in the middle; though I do enjoy my eggs with crisp edges. The eggs weren't seasoned, so adding your own salt is a must. The standard issue longanisa was fine; I'd prefer bit more char, but it had a nice snap, wasn't dried out, and had that sweet longanisa hamonado flavor.

Manila Fast Food and Desserts
8979 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

The "Moco Loco" at the High Dive:

So, I've been going into the office during most weekends since we got back from vacation. Some were necessary; on other days, it was just to catch up on admin stuff. I ran to Birdrock on Morena to pick up some coffee beans for the Missus. I'd done my Sprouts - 99 Ranch Market - Nijiya - Costco shopping and was going to grab something quick and head off to the office when I decided to "F that"......I deserved a day off and maybe a nice long weekend nap.

The car took over and parked alongside the High Dive. And my 11am Ommegang Gnomegang clinched the deal.

I haven't been the biggest fan of the food here, but hadn't seen the Brunch menu before. THD opens at 8am on Saturday and Sunday and they had something called the "Moco Loco" ($15)....you know me and Loco Mocos.

This really was a mixed bag. The egg seemed kinda small, but was fine, the yolk still runny. The gravy was straight up mushroom gravy which had a decent texture; not overly gluey, and wasn't too salty. It was just a tad over lukewarm though. The rice had an odd texture......not sure what was going on.

The best item was the burger; which, while being pretty lean and toothsome, had a really nice char with a good beefiness to it.

One word of warning; if you're ordering this and can't take something less than medium, I think you should let them know as what I got was pretty darn rare. Though it didn't bother me.

High Dive Bar and Grill
1801 Morena Blvd
San Diego, CA 92110

Well, at least I actually did take a "day off". And I got something other than noodle soup for my weekend breakfast.